Carney announces new intelligence exchange agreement with France

PARIS — Canada and France will deepen their defence and industrial co-operation through a new general security of information agreement, Prime Minister Mark Carney said in Paris on Friday.

Carney made the announcement in a joint statement alongside French President Emmanuel Macron, ahead of a bilateral meeting between the two at the Palais de l’Elysée.

“Businesses in both of our countries are doing more together, in energy, defence, critical minerals and now in (artificial intelligence),” Carney said.

“What this means is an ability to exchange classified information between our defence, our space, our AI and our aerospace sectors.”

Carney’s office said the agreement will expand access to French defence procurement opportunities and make Canadian industry more competitive when pursuing contract opportunities in France.

This agreement comes on top of Canada joining Europe’s SAFE Instrument, a loan program worth 150 billion euros, to expedite defence procurement in the European Union. Canada’s participation gives it preferential access to contracts financed under the program.

A readout published by Carney’s office says he and Macron discussed trade, energy and critical minerals in their bilateral meeting before the media availability.

They also talked about France’s recent purchase of two de Havilland water bombers made in Calgary, Alta.

The meeting, which comes just ahead of next week’s G7 summit, was at least the seventh one-on-one discussion between the two world leaders since Carney took office in March 2025.

It comes just ahead of the G7 leaders summit, which France is hosting this year from June 15 to June 17.

France, which took over the G7 presidency from Canada in January, says the priorities for this year’s summit include addressing major geopolitical crises and G7 support for Ukraine.

When reporters asked Carney on Friday if he offered Macron any advice on how to deal with U.S. President Donald Trump at the summit, Carney said Macron has been around the G7 for a long time and doesn’t need any advice from him.

He added that Macron’s direct speaking style makes him “well suited” to progress with G7 leaders, including Trump.

“Obviously he’s an extremely experienced statesman,” Carney said.

Sen. Peter Boehm, who served as personal representative for prime ministers Stephen Harper and Justin Trudeau for six G7 summits, said Carney’s pre-summit visit with Macron offers an opportunity for the two leaders to strategize.

He added that Carney is expected to demonstrate “pragmatic diplomacy” at the international event, given how his Davos speech drew widespread international attention.

In that speech at the World Economic Forum in January, Carney said the world has entered a risky new age of great power rivalries and that Canada is working to expand non-U.S. trade in the face of Trump’s trade war.

Boehm said the G7 summit in Évian-les-Bains will be Macron’s tenth and final G7 summit as president. His second and final term will end in May 2027.

Macron had said Friday that he and Carney would also discuss how to protect children online, adding the two countries share the same objectives.

Earlier this year, French lawmakers approved a bill banning social media for children under 15. The idea of setting a minimum age for use of the platforms has gained momentum across Europe.

The Liberal government introduced its own online safety legislation this week. If passed, it would require social media companies to block access for kids under 16, though platforms will be able to obtain an exemption if they put sufficient safeguards in place.

Bill C-34, introduced Wednesday in the House of Commons, would also regulate the companies behind AI chatbots by imposing on them a duty to act responsibly. That includes measures to lower the risk of chatbots communicating harmful content and putting in place crisis intervention protocols for cases involving self-harm, suicide or violence.

Macron applauded the move on social media Thursday, saying, “Thanks for joining the movement.”

Looking ahead to the summit, Boehm said there’s always some carry-on elements from previous years.

“The discussions at Kananaskis on artificial intelligence, for example, and on the global economy will have an impact on the discussions at Évian as well,” he said.

A Canadian government official said this week there would not be a comprehensive final communiqué from leaders at the end of the summit.

They said the assembled leaders will instead put out issue-specific statements throughout the event.

Carney said Friday there will be some issues where one of the G7 partners holds views that are more extreme than others.

“I’m not saying just one … each of us may have examples of that,” he said, noting the range of different approaches to AI, for example.

He said he disagrees with the notion of a “G6 plus one,” adding that all G7 leaders are looking for common solutions.

Boehm, however, said the decision to publish several individual declarations, rather than one, is likely due to Trump.

“I think that’s a very big factor, because what’s the point of trying to get consensus when what you’re doing is watering down what you’ve got and then you’re not credible,” he said, adding that individual statements could address online harms, AI or various other global issues.

Boehm said the broader geopolitical scene will factor into talks at the summit, with a war still raging in the Middle East and with the world still grappling with the fallout from the Trump administration’s deep cuts to foreign aid.

Carney said Friday Canada is prepared to help maintain the Strait of Hormuz once it is open.

He said he’s hopes there will be progress toward establishing a “cessation of hostilities.”

“Canada will look to do our part so that we can support broader effort if the moment is presenting itself,” Carney said, adding that the war in Lebanon needs to be a part of the “broader solution.”

France is Canada’s third-largest merchandise export market in the European Union and its fifth-largest source of foreign investment.

Catherine Morrison, The Canadian Press